"Yes。Fathernevergivesup，youknowthat。ButhewasveryanxiousthattheConsolidatedPacificpeopleshouldthinkhehad。
　　Andnow——now，whenheissoill——comesthis！Mr。Davistelephonedthat——Yes，whatisit？"
　　Therehadbeenaknockatthedoor。Itopenedandthebutlerappeared。
　　"AtelegramforMr。Colton，MissMabel，"hesaid。
　　"Giveittome。Tellthemantowait，Johnson。ItisfromMr。
　　Davis，"sheexclaimed，turningtome。"Iamsureitis。Yes。
　　See！"
　　Shehandedmetheyellowtelegram。Ireadthefollowingaloud：
　　"JamesW。Colton，"Denboro，Mass。
　　"Galileopotatosoapcurrencytomatodeedscommandarmyalcoholthiefweatherfamily——"
　　"Whatonearth——！"Iexclaimed。
　　"Thatisinthecode，Father’sprivatecode。Don’tyousee？Thecodebookisheresomewhere。Imustfindit。"
　　Shewasrummaginginthedrawerofthedesk。Withasighofreliefsheproducedalittleblueleather—coveredbook。
　　"Hereitis，"shesaid。"NowreadmethetelegramandIwillwritethetranslation。Hurry！"
　　Ireadagain：
　　"’Galileo’——"
　　"Thatmeans’ConsolidatedPacific’。Goon。"
　　Ittookusfiveminutestotranslatethetelegram。Whenwehadfinishedtheresultwas：
　　"ConsolidatedPacificcrowdwisesituation。Strongbuyingclosemarketto—day。Expectworseto—morrow。Wearebadshape。Candeliveronlypart。Surebigadvanceopeningandmorefollow。WhatshallIdo？Whydonotyouanswerprivatetelegraphline？
　　Telephoneoutorder。Wireinstructionsimmediately。Betterstillcomeyourself。Davis。"
　　"Isthatall？"askedMissColton。"Whatanswershallwemake？"
　　"Wait。Wait，please，untilIdigsomesortofsenseoutofallthis。’Wisesituation’——"
　　"WiseTOsituation，Ipresumethatmeans。TheConsolidatedPacificiswisetothesituation。’Wise’isslang，isn’tit？Itusedtobeatcollege。"
　　"Itisyet，eveninDenboro。Humph！letmethink。’Surebigadvanceopening。’IsupposethatmeansthemarketwillopenwithLouisvilleandTranscontinentalatahigherfigureandthatthepriceissuretoadvanceduringtheday。"
　　"Yes。Yes，itmustmeanthat。ButwhyshouldMr。Davisbesoexcitedaboutit？Hesaidsomethingabout’ruin’overthe’phone。
　　Whatdoes’Wearebadshape’mean？And’Candeliveronlypart’？"
　　"Idon’tknow……unless……Humph！Ifwehadsomeparticulars。
　　Whydon’tyouanswerontheprivatetelegraph，ashesays？"
　　"BecauseIcan’t。Don’tyousee？Ican’t。Thereisnotelegraphoperatorinthehouse。WhenwefirstcameFatherhadasecretary，whocouldusethetelegraph；buthesenthimbacktoNewYork。
　　Saidhewassickofthesightofhim。Theydidnotgetonwelltogether。"
　　"Butyourfathermusthaveusedthetelegraphsince。"
　　"Yes。Fatherusedithimself。Hewasatelegraphoperatorwhenhewasayoungman。Oh，youdon’tknowwhatawonderfulmanmyfatheris！Hisstoryislikesomethinginabook。He——Butnevermindthat。Hark！thereistheinstrumentgoingagain。Itmustbedreadfullyimportant。Mr。Davisissoworried。"
　　"Heseemstobe，certainly。"
　　"Butwhatshallwedo？"
　　"IwishIknew，butIdon’t。Youknownothingoftheparticulars？"
　　"No。NothingmorethanIhavetoldyou。Oh，CAN’Tyouhelpme？I
　　feelsomehowasifFatherhadleftmeinchargeofhisaffairsandasifImustnotfail。Now，whenheishelpless！whenheis……
　　Oh，can’tYOUdosomething，Mr。Paine？Ithoughtyoumight。Youareabanker。"
　　"Apoorimitationonly，Iamafraid。Letmethink。DidyoutellthismanDavisofyourfather’sillness？"
　　"No。IthoughtperhapsFatherwouldnotwishit。AndIhadnoopportunity……Oh，dear！thereissomeoneatthedooragain！
　　Whoisit？"
　　Johnson’svoicereplied。"Itisme，MissMabel，"hesaid。"Thetelegraphpersonsayshecan’twaitanylonger。He’asn’t’adhissupper。Andthereisatwenty—five—centchargeforbringingthemessage，Miss。"
　　"Tellhimhemustwaitaminutelonger，"Ianswered，forher。
　　"MissColton，itseemstomethat，whetherwecandoanythingornot，weshouldknowtheparticulars。Tellthatman——PhineasCahoon，thedepotmaster，Isupposeitis——thatthereisananswerandhemustwaitforit。Nowlet’sconsultthatcode。"
　　ShetookthecodebookandIpickedupasheetofpaperandapencilfromthetable。
　　"Wemustaskhimtosendalltheparticulars，"Ideclared。"Lookup’send’inthecode，MissColton。"
　　Shewasturningthepagesofthelittlebookwhenthebutlerknockedoncemore。
　　"Hesayshecan’tsendanymessageuntilmorning，MissMabel。Thetelegraphofficeclosesateighto’clock。"
　　Thecodebookfelltothetable。MissColtonstaredhelplesslyatme。
　　"WhatSHALLwedo？"shebreathed。
　　Irosetomyfeet。"Wait，Johnson，"Icalled。"Makethatmanwaitamomentlonger。MissColton，Ihaveanidea。Wouldyourfatherbewillingto——but，thatissilly！Ofcoursehewould！I’llseeCahoonmyself。"
　　IfoundPhineas，long—leggedandgaunt，sittingonthefrontstepofthecolonialportico。Hehadbeeninvitedintothehall，buthadrefusedtheinvitation。"Ihadonmyworkin’duds，"heexplainedlater。"Afellerthat’sbeenhandlin’freightalltheafternoonain’tfittosetongold—platedfurniture。"HelookedupinsurpriseasIcameout。
　　"Well，forthundersakes！"heexclaimed，inastonishment。"It’sRosPaine！Whatinthenationareyoudoin’inhere，Ros？Ain’tmarriedintothefamily，haveye？Haw，haw！"
　　Icouldhavekickedhimforthatpleasantry——ifhehadnotbeenjustthentooimportantapersonagetokick。Asitwas，hischanceremarkknockedmyerrandoutofmyhead，momentarily。
　　"How’stheoldman，Ros？"hewhispered。"Theytellmeit’sbroughtonbyhighlivin’，champagnewineandsuch。Isit？"
　　"Phin，"saidI，ignoringthequestion，"wouldyoustayupallnightfortwentydollars？"
　　Hestaredatme。
　　"Whatkindofconundrum’sthat？"hedemanded。"’WouldIsetupallnightfortwentydollars？’Thatmaybeajoke，but——"
　　"Wouldyou？Imeanit。Mr。Coltonissickandhisdaughterneedssomeonetosendandreceivemessagesovertheirprivatetelegraphwire。Shewillpayyoutwentydollars——orIwill，ifshedoesn’t——
　　ifyouwillstayhereanddothatforher。Willyou？"
　　Foraminutehesattherestaringatme。
　　"Youmeanit，Ros？"heasked，slowly。"Youdo，hey！Ithoughtp’raps——butno，it’slongpastAprilFoolday。WILLIdoit？Showmethetelegraphplacequick，aforeIwakeupandcomeoutoftheether。Twentydollars！Consarnit，Isendmessagesalltheweekfortwelve，andhustlefreightandsellticketsintothebargain。
　　Iain’thadnosupper，butnevermind。Makeittwenty—fiveandI’llstayalldayto—morrer。"
　　IledhimintothelibraryandexplainedhispresencetoMissColton。Shewasdelighted。
　　"ItisSOgoodofyou，Mr。Cahoon，"sheexclaimed。"Andyoushan’tstarve，either。Iwillhavesomesuppersentintoyouatonce。
　　Youcaneatitwhileyouareatwork，can’tyou？"
　　Shehurriedouttoorderthesupper。Phineas，inaccordancewithmyrequest，seatedhimselfinthelittleroomadjoiningthelibrary，beforethetelegraphinstrument。
　　"Thunder！"heobserved，lookingabouthim。"IneverexpectedtosendmessagesforKingSolomoninallhisglory，butIcal’lateI
　　canstanditifSolcan。S’posethere’dbeanyobjectiontomytakin’offmycoat？Comesmorenat’raltoworkinmyshirtsleeves。"
　　Ibadehimtakeitoffandhedidso。
　　"Thisfeller’sinsomehurry，"hesaid，noddingtowardtheclickinginstrument。"ShallItellhimwe’reondeckandreadyforbusiness？"
　　"Yes，tellhim。"
　　Hislongfingersbusiedthemselveswiththesender。Asharpseriesofclicksansweredthecall。Phineasglancedapprehensivelyoutintothelibrary。
　　"Say，heain’tnoparson，ishe？"hechuckled。"Wantstoknowwhatinhellhasbeenthetroubleallthistime。What’llItellhim？"
　　"TellhimtosendparticularsconcerningL。andT。atonce。Alltheparticulars。"
　　Themessagewassent。Thereceiverrattledahastyreply。
　　"Hesaysyouknowalltheparticularsalready。Youmustknow’em。
　　WantstoknowifthisisMr。Colton。"
　　"TellhimMr。Coltonishere，inthehouse。Thatwillbetrueenough。Andsaywewishallparticulars，figuresandall。Wewanttoknowjustwherewestand。"
　　Thedemandforparticularswasforwarded。Therewasmoreclicking。
　　"Givemeapieceofpaperandapencil，quick，"urgedPhineas。
　　"Thisisalongfeller。"
　　Whilehewaswritingthe"longfeller，"asthetelegraphtickeditoff，MissColtonandthebutlerappeared，thelatterbearingaloadedtray。Hedrewalittletableupbesidetheoperatorandplacedthetrayuponit。Thenhewentaway。ThetelegraphclickedandclickedandCahoonwrote。MissColtonandIwatchedhimanxiously。
　　"Say，"observedPhineas，betweenintervalsofclicks，"thisfeller’sinsomeloonyasylum，ain’the。ThisisprettynighascrazyasthatmessageIfetcheddown……Here’tis。Maybeyoufolksknowwhatitmeans，Idon’t。It’sfortyfathomslong，ain’tit。"
　　Itwaslongenough，surely。Itwasnotallinthecodejargon——
　　DavistrustedtheprivacyofthewiresufficientlytosendaportionofitinplainEnglish——buthedidnottrusteventhataltogether。MissColtonandIworkeditoutaswehadthefirsttelegram。AsthetranslationprogressedIcouldfeelmyhairtinglingattheroots。
　　WasittohelpinsuchacomplicationasthisthatIhadbeensummoned？I，ofallpeople！Thesewatersweretoodeepforme。
　　Boileddown，the"particulars"forwhichDavishadbeenasked，andwhichhehadsent，amountedtothis：Colton，itseemed，hadsoldL。andT。"short"foraconsiderableperiodoftimeinorder，asI
　　hadsurmised，toforcedownthepriceandbuyinatareasonablefigure。Hehadsold，inthisway，aboutthree—eighthsofthecommonstock。Ofthisamounthehadinhispossession——inhisbroker’spossession，thatis——buttwooftheeighths。The"othercrowd"——theConsolidatedPacific，presumably——had，asDavisnowdiscovered，three—eighthsactualcertificates，initspocket，hadbeenacquiringthem，onthequiet，whilepretendingtohavelostinterest。Thepublic，unsuspectingpowersinthis，asinmostofWallStreetlittlegames，hadstillthree—eighths。The"othercrowd，"knowing"BigJim’s"position，hadbuttoforceimmediatedeliveryofthemissingone—eighth——theamountofColton’sover—
　　selling——andhemightbeobligedtopayHeavenknewwhatfortheshares。HeMUSTacquirethem；hemustbuythem。Andthepricewhichhewouldbeforcedtopaymightmean——perhapsnotbankruptcyforhim，themillionaire——butcertainlythelossofatremendoussumandallchanceofacquiringcontroloftheroad。"Thishasbeensprungonusallatonce，"wiredDavis。"Theyhavegotuscold。WhatshallIdo？Youmustbehereyourselfbeforethemarketopens。"
　　Andthemanwho"mustbetherehimself"wascriticallyillandunconscious！
　　Thelongtelegram，severalhundredwordsofit，wasbeforeus。I
　　readitthroughagain，andMissColtonsatandlookedatme。
　　"Doyouunderstandit——now？"shewhispered，anxiously。
　　"Yes，IthinkIdo……Whatisit，Phin？"
　　"Iwasjustwonderin’，"drawledCahoon’svoicefromtheadjoiningroom，"ifIcouldn’teatalittlemiteofthissupper。I’vegottodoitorhavemynoseandeyestiedup。Havin’allthemgoodthingssettin’rightwhereIcanseeandsmell’emisgivin’methefidgets。"
　　"Yes，yes，eataway，"Isaid，laughing。AndevenMissColtonsmiled。Butmylaughandhersmilewerebuttransient。
　　"Isit——DoesitmeanthatthingsareVERYwrong？"sheasked，indicatingthetelegram。
　　"Theyareveryserious；thereisnodoubtofthat。"
　　Theinstrumentclicked。
　　"Say，Ros，"saidPhin，hismouthfull，"thisfeller’sgettin’asfidgetyasIwasaforeIgotafoulofthisgrub。Hewantstoknowwhathisinstructionsare。What’llhedo？"
　　"Whatshallyoutellhim？"askedMissColton。
　　"Idon’tknow，"Ianswered。"Idonotknow。IamafraidIamofnousewhatever。Thisisnocountryman’sjob。Nocountrybanker，evenarealone，shouldattempttohandlethis。Thisishighfinancewithavengeance。Idon’tknow。Ithinkhe……Supposewetellhimtoconsultthepeopleatyourfather’soffice。"
　　Sheshookherhead。"No，"shesaid。"Thepeopleattheofficeknownothingofit。ThiswasFather’sownpersonalaffair。NooneknowsofitbutMr。Davis。"
　　"Howabouttheminstructions？"thisfromCahoon。
　　"Tellhim——yes，tellhimMr。Coltoncannotleavehereatpresentandthathemustusehisownjudgment，goaheadonhisownresponsibility。ThatistheonlythingIseetodo，MissColton。
　　Don’tworry；hemustbeamanofexperienceandjudgmentoryourfatherneverwouldusehim。Hewillpullitthrough，Iamsure。"
　　IwasbynomeansasconfidentasIpretendedtobe，however，andthenextmessagefromDavisprovedmyforebodingstobewellfounded。Hisanswerwaspromptandemphatic：
　　Mattertooimportant。Declinetotakeresponsibility。Musthavedefiniteinstructionsorshallnotact。IsthisMr。Coltonhimself？
　　"HewouldnotactwithoutFather’sordersinamatterlikethis。I
　　wasafraidofit。Andheisgrowingsuspicious。Oh，CAN’Tyouhelpme，Mr。Paine？CAN’Tyou？Ireliedonyou。IfeltsureYOU
　　wouldknowwhattodo。Iam——IamSOalone；andwithFathersoill——I——I——"
　　Sheturnedawayandleanedherheaduponherhandonthetable。I
　　feltagainthedesperateimpulseIhadfeltwhenwewerealoneonboardthelaunch，theimpulsetotakeherinmyarmsandtrytocomforther，totellherthatIwoulddoanything——anythingforher。AndyetwhatcouldIdo？
　　"Can’tyouhelpme？"shepleaded。"Youhaveneverfailedmebefore。"
　　TherecameaknockatthedoorandJohnson’svoicecalledhername。
　　"MissMabel，"hewhispered，"MissMabel，willyoucome，please？
　　Thedoctorwantsyourightaway。"
　　Sherosequickly，drawingherhandacrosshereyesasshedidso。
　　"Iamcoming，Johnson，"shesaid。Then，turningtome，"IwillbebackassoonasIcan。Dotry——trytothink。YouMUST，forFather’ssake，foralloursakes。"
　　Shelefttheroom。Iroseand，withmyhandsinmypockets，begantopacethefloor。ThiswasthetightestplaceIhadeverbeenin。
　　Therehadbeenatime，yearsbefore，whenIpridedmyselfonmyknowledgeofthestockmarketanditsidiosyncrasies。Then，intheconfidenceofyouth，Imighthaverisentoasituationlikethis，mighthavetackleditandhadthenervetopullitthroughorblametheotherfellowifIfailed。NowIwasneitheryouthfulnorconfident。WhateverIdidwouldbe，inallhumanprobability，thewrongthing，andtodothewrongthingnowmeant，perhaps，ruinforthesickmanupstairs。Andshehadtrustedme！Shehadsentformeinhertrouble！Ihad"neverfailedherbefore"！
　　Iwalkedthefloor，tryinghardtothink。Itwashardtothinkcalmly，tobesensible，andyetIrealizedthatcommon—senseandcoolnesswerewhatIneedednow。Itriedtoremembertheoutcomeofsimilarsituationsinfinancialcircles，butthatdidnothelpme。IrememberedaplayIhadseen，"TheHenrietta"wasitsname。
　　Inthatplay，ayoungmanwithmoremoneythanbrainshadsavedthedayforhisfather，aWallStreetmagnate，bybuyingacertainstockinlargequantitiesatacriticaltime。Hearrivedathisdecisiontobuy，ratherthansell，bytossingacoin。Thefatherhaddeclaredthathissonhadhitupontherealsecretofsuccessinstockspeculation。Possiblytheoldgentlemanwasright，butI
　　couldnotmakemydecisioninthatway。No，whateverIdidmusthavesomereasontobackit。Wastherenosituation，outsideofWallStreet，whichofferedaparallel？Afterall，whatwasthesituation？Someonewishedtobuyacertainthing，andsomeoneelsewishedtobuyitalso。Neitherpartywantedtheothertogetit。Therehadbeenageneralgameofbluffandthen……Humph！
　　Why，inaway，itwasliketheoriginalbiddingfortheShoreLaneland。
　　Itwaslikeit，andyetitwasnot。IownedthelandandColtonwantedtobuyit；soalsodidJedDean。Eachsidehadmadebidsandhadbeenrefused。Thenthebiddershad，professedly，stoodpat，but，inreality，theyhadnot。Jedhadtoldme，inhislatestinterview，thathewouldhavepaidalmostanythingforthatland，ifhehadhadto。AndColton——ColtonhadinventedtheBayShoreDevelopmentCompany。ThatcompanyhadfooledElnathanMulletandotherpropertyholders。IthadfooledCaptainJed。Ithadcomeveryneartofoolingme。IfMabelColtonhadnotgivenmethehintImighthavebeentrickedintoselling。ThenColtonwouldhavewon，havewonona"bluff。"Agoodbluffdidsometimeswin。I
　　wondered……
　　IwasstillpacingthefloorwhenMissColtonreturnedtothelibrary。Shewastryinghardtoappearcalm，butIcouldseethatshewasgreatlyagitated。
　　"Whatisit？"Iasked。"Ishe——"
　　"Heisnotaswelljustnow。I——Imustnotleavehim——orMother。
　　ButIcamebackforamoment，asItoldyouIwould。Isthereanythingnew？"
　　"No。Davishasrepeatedhisdeclarationtodonothingwithoutordersfromyourfather。"
　　Shenodded。"Verywell，"shesaid，"thenitisover。Wearebeaten——Fatherisbeatenforthefirsttime。Itmakeslittledifference，Isuppose。Ifhe——ifheistakenfromus，nothingelsematters。ButIhopedyou……nevermind。Ithankyou，Mr。
　　Paine。Youwouldhavehelpedhimifyoucould，Iknow。"
　　Somehowthissurrender，andthetoneinwhichitwasmade，stirredmemorethanallelse。ShehadtrustedmeandIhadfailed。I
　　wouldnothaveitso。
　　"MissColton，"Isaid，earnestly，"suppose——supposeIshouldgoaheadandmakethisfight，onmyownhook。SupposeIshouldgiveDavisthe’instructions’heisbeggingfor。HaveIpermissiontodoit？"
　　Shelookedatmeinsurprise。"Ofcourse，"shesaid，simply。
　　"Doyoumeanit？Itmaymeancompletesmash。Iamnorailroadman，nostockmanipulator。IhaveanideaandifthistroubleweremineIshouldactuponit。Butitisnotmine。Itisyourfather’s——andyours。Imaybecrazytorisksuchathing——"
　　Shesteppedforward。"Doit，"shecommanded。"Itellyoutodoit。IfitfailsIwilltaketheresponsibility。"
　　"Thatyoushallnotdo。ButIwilltakethechance。Phin！"
　　"Yup；hereIbe。"
　　"Sendthismessageatonce：’Tryyourhardesttogetholdofanysharesyoucan，atalmostanyfigureinreason，beforethemarketopens。Whenitopensbeginbuyingeverythingoffered。’Gotthat？"
　　"Yup。I’vegotit。"
　　"Signit’Colton’andsenditalong。Iamusingyourfather’sname，"Iadded，turningtoher。"Itseemstometheonlywaytoavoidsuspicionandgetaction。Noonemustknowthat’BigJim’iscriticallyill；youunderstandthat。"
　　"Yes，Iunderstand。But，"hesitatingly，"tobuymaymeanpayingtremendousprices，mayitnot？Canwe——"
　　"Wemust。HereisDavis’sreplycoming。Whatisit，Phin？"
　　Cahoonreadoffthemessageasthereceiverclicked。
　　"Youareinsane。Buyingatsuchpriceswillbesuicide。"
　　"Tellhimno。TellhimtoletitleakoutthatColtonisseizingtheopportunitytoclinchhiscontroloftheroad。Theothercrowdwillthink，ifheiswillingtobuyatanyprice，thathecannotbesoshortastheysupposed。Sendallthat，Phin。Itisabluff，MissColton，nothingbutabluff，butitmaywin。GodknowsIhopeitwill。"
　　Shedidnotanswer。Togetherwewaitedforthereply。Itcameasfollows：
　　Allrightifyousayso，ofcourse，butstillthinkitsuicide。I
　　amoffonthestillhuntforthosesharesbutdon’tbelieveonetobehad，Consolidatedbunchtoosharpforthat。Staybythewire。
　　WillreportwhenIcan。Goodluckandgood—by。
　　"He’sgone，Ical’late，"observedPhineas。"Needmeanymore，doyouthink？"
　　"Yes。Youmuststayhereallnight，justasItoldyou。"
　　"Rightyoube。Sendwordtotheoldwoman，that’sall，ifyoucan。
　　Cal’lateshe’swaitin’atthekitchendoorwitharollin’pin，bythistime。"
　　"Iwillsendtheword，Mr。Cahoon，"repliedMissColton。"And——
　　don’tyouthinkyoucouldgohomenow，Mr。Paine？Iknowhowexhaustedyoumustbe，afterlastnight。"
　　"Nohomeforme，"Ianswered，withassumedcheerfulness。"AdmiralsofFinanceareexpectedtostickbytheship。IwillliedownhereonthecouchandPhineascancallmeifIamneeded。Don’tworry，MissColton。Gotoyourfatherandforgetusaltogether，ifyoucan。If——ifIshouldbeneededfor——foranyothercause，pleasespeak。"
　　Shelookedatmeinsilenceforamoment。Thenshecametowardmeandheldoutherhand。"Ishallnotforget，whateverelseImaydo，"shesaid，brokenly。"AndIwillspeakifIneedyou，myfriend。"
　　Sheturnedhastilyandwenttothedoor。
　　"IwillsendwordtoyourpeopleaswellasMr。Cahoon’s，"sheadded。"Tryandsleep，ifyoucan。Goodnight。"
　　Thedoorclosedbehindher。Sleep！Iwasnotlikelytosleep。A
　　manwhohaslightedthefuseofthepowdermagazinebeneathhimdoesnotsleepmuch。
　　CHAPTERXXII
　　AndyetsleepIdid，foralittlewhile，justbeforemorningbroke。
　　IhadspentthenightpacingthefloorandtalkingtoPhineas，whowaswideawakeandfullofstoriesandjokes，towhichIpaidlittleattention。MissColtondidnotcometothelibraryagain。
　　FromtheroomsaboveIheardoccasionalsobsandexclamationsinMrs。Colton’svoice。OnceDoctorQuimbypeepedin。Helookedanxiousandweary。
　　"Hello，Ros！"hehailed，"Iheardyouwerehere。Thisisahigholdnight，isn’tit！"
　　"Howishe？"Iasked。
　　"Aboutthesame。Noworse；infact，he’sbetterthanhewasawhileago。Buthe’snotoutofthewoodsyet，thoughI’mprettyhopeful，fortheoldboyhasahuskyconstitution——consideringthechanceshe’stakenwithitallhislife。It’shiswifethatbothersme。She’sworsethanoneoftheplaguesofEgypt。I’vegivenhersomesleepingpowdersnow；they’llkeepherquietforaspell，Ihope。"
　　"AndMissColton——howisshe？"
　　"She！She’sascalmandsensibleandhelpfulasatrainednurse。
　　BytheAlmighty，sheisawonder，thatgirl！Well，Imustgetbackonmyjob。Don’thaveamillionairepatienteverydayintheweek。"
　　Atthreeo’clockcameamessagefromDavis。Hehadnotbeenabletosecureasingleshare。Didhisinstructionstobuystillhold？
　　Iansweredthattheydidandherepliedthathewasgoingtogetanapforanhourorso。"Ishallneedtherest，ifIamanyprophet，"heconcluded。
　　ItwasshortlyafterthisthatIlaydownonthecouch。Ihaddeterminednottoclosemyeyes，butIwasutterlywornout，I
　　suppose，andexhaustiongotthebetterofme。ThenextthingI
　　knewthegraylightofdawnwasstreaminginatthelibrarywindowsandJohnsonwasspreadingatempting—lookingbreakfastonthetable。
　　Isprangup。